A New World

Henry and Catherine Martin were a large upper class family with eight children. William was the eldest and then Bessie, Mary, Martha, Peter, Agnes, Beatrice and the youngest Alma. William had gone into the Army, following in Dad’s footsteps, and the eldest girls Bessie, Mary, and Martha enjoyed a busy social life. Bessie had been promised to a prominent young man named John Tully, who was in the family business of Law. The younger children had not yet joined the society party groups as they were too young, but tonight was different. It was New Year’s Eve 1899, and the Martins were holding a large soiree at their home, so the younger children also got to attend and because it was such a formidable affair bringing in a new century, they could stay up until midnight. The staff had worked tirelessly all day to set up the party and now all was in readiness for the guests.

The first to arrive was Aunt Gertrude. She was Henry’s sister, and Maiden Aunt to the children. She had moved to the America’s ten years before and had returned for the party and unbeknown to the children; she had a surprise for the twins’ birthdays tomorrow. Everyone greeted her at the door and there were lots of hugs from everyone. Then there was a steady stream of people who needed to be greeted until finally everyone had arrived by nine pm. The country manor was far from town and usually quiet, but tonight there was an orchestra in the ballroom’s corner and everyone talking amongst themselves made for quite a noisy affair. The gentlemen were all done up in fancy tuxedoes and the ladies wore only the best of finery which covered almost every colour one could think of and many styles. Most of the older married ladies wore older style ball gowns that had much more bounce and swirl as they danced around the ballroom. But fashion had changed over the last ten years and the younger girls wore the more streamline dresses that were still spectacular finery and the younger Martin children were in awe of everyone.

The party continued unchecked until Henry stood in front of the orchestra and tapped his glass. It was almost midnight and everyone stopped to watch the grandfather clock in the hallway, waiting for it to chime out midnight and bring in the New Century. After the noise of the festivities, the quiet seemed deafening, with just the ticktock of the clock. Then it chimed twelve and everyone cried out Happy New Year and then the orchestra struck up Auld Lang Syne and to which everyone sang along. Then the orchestra played Happy Birthday, and Henry motioned to Mary and Martha to come to the front of the ballroom beside him. Aunt Gertrude came up to Henry’s side as well and once everyone had stopped singing and giving their best wishes to the girls, Henry once again held up his hand and then Gertrude presented the girls with their gift from her. Mary, who was older by ten minutes, took the envelope and opened it. Both girls stared at the contents for a few moments, shock showing on both their faces and then shock turned to excitement as they realised what they were looking at, two first-class tickets for the RMS Oceanic to accompany Aunt Gertrude on her return to the America’s. Both girls squealed with delight as they looked at their father, Henry, and saw his nod of approval. Then it was a whirlwind of people giving them congratulations, with some telling the girls stories of their own travels on a steamship, while others said how they would love to do the same thing someday. The girls smiled at these people, as they knew most would never be brave or adventurous enough to leave the comfort of their own home. Although the orchestra still played quietly in the corner while everyone gave the girls their best wishes, the party was winding down as the Nanny put the younger Martin children to bed and guests began to slowly drift out the front door to their awaiting carriages.

As the last goodbyes were finally given and the front door closed, Aunt Gertrude, Henry and Catherine said goodnight to the four remaining children as tiredness finally took over their footsteps and they wandered up the stairs to their respective bedrooms. The three adults turned and went into the kitchen, where cook had made a fresh pot of tea and some sandwiches from leftover roast meat and tomato and a plate of biscuits as well. There was a lot to discuss regarding the twins’ journey. They had discussed it enough to initially say yes for the party, but now they wanted more details from Gertrude about living quarters and chaperones for the girl’s outings and a little more detail of the ship they were to be sailing on.

The excitement in the air was palpable. The fog had lifted to an astonishing blue sky and sunshine. It was only January, so it was still cold, but everyone on the docks were milling around waiting to board the RMS Oceanic. The girls had done their homework and knew that RMS stood for Royal Mail Ship and that the Oceanic was the largest liner of her kind so far owned by the White Star Line. She was impressive with her two huge funnels amidships that seems to reach the sky. Henry and Catherine looked at their two wonderful daughters dressed almost identical in their velvet caped A-line frocks with fox fur muffs to keep their hands warm, chatting excitedly to friends and family alike. Finally, all the cargo had been loaded, and the porters had taken their luggage to their cabins. First class had a separate gangplank to board and there were hugs and kisses and tears from everyone as Gertrude, Mary, and Martha boarded. Once aboard, they all stood against the railing, waving down to the sea of faces below. The girls continued to wave as the Oceanic left port until the people on the docks became tiny dots, then they slowly went inside to their cabins. Everything had been unpacked and put away, so the girls excitedly explored their domain. This would be home for the next seven days. All the meals were served in a splendid dining room, and they especially loved the evening meal, where the gentlemen all wore tuxedoes and the women wore their best finery. Afterwards, they would all go to the Grand Ballroom to dance the night away to the wonderful orchestra and singers. Gertrude would come for a while, but then she would retire to her room around eleven pm. They made two more stops before heading across the North Atlantic Ocean. The girls watched from the railings as the Oceanic docked and then sailed once more, amazed by the throng of faces coming and going. Then, at last, they were on the vast North Atlantic. At first it was amazing watching the ocean, the sunrise and the sunsets over the waves and the horizon, but it quickly became a bore with nothing on the horizon but water and sky. They had seen the end of the birds flying overhead. But, inside the entertainment and the friends that the girls had made on board kept them from the boredom. Aunt Gertrude was happy to read on deck, when the weather allowed, and smiled at the girls’ antics.

Then their excitement ramped up once again when landfall was finally announced and they rushed to the railing with delight and happiness to look out at their destination. New York harbour was a flourish of activity and Mary and Martha ran from one side of the ship to the other trying to take in all the sites, and gasped at the site of the Statue of Liberty as the ship passed her. The Oceanic docked, and the girls sighed as it seemed to happen so quickly, but then they were heading off into the city. Tree-lined streets with so many handsome cabs and other horse-drawn vehicles. And a sea of people on the sidewalks from all walks of life. The buildings seemed to reach the sky as the girls looked out of the cab. Gertrude had a permanent smile on her face, at the exuberance of her charges. Then finally the carriage they were in turned onto a quieter street with rows of brownstone buildings on both sides of the street and finally pulled up in front of a tall house and Mary and Martha realised this would be home for the next year.

Gertrude ran a boarding house for Ladies and her staff came out to welcome her home and meet Mary and Martha. The staff took care of their luggage and Gertrude took the girls inside to meet the other tenants. It was still cold and there was snow on the ground, but this bustling New World was a different as could be from their quiet home in Lancashire and both Mary and Martha were looking forward to exploring it all in their time ahead.

Mary Martha gently closed the journal, the pages worn from both being read many times and age, and she smiled. She had been elected by the family to document their many travels and their emigration and she was finally entering the stories from the many family journals into her computer to keep them safe from deterioration, but this was her favourite tale about how her Great Grandmothers, whom she had been named after, had first come to America.